Containers are commonly used for packing and transporting food products, such as bakery goods. Because bakery goods, such as pies, cakes, brownies, or cookies, often include decorative cream, frosting, or icing elements that can be damaged during transport or distribution, various types of containers have been developed in an effort to protect the food product during transport and/or distribution. These containers have included stiffening ribs, shock absorbing shells and bases, and/or additional packing material. One example container configuration has a dome-shaped cover (or lid, referred to collectively as “cover shell” unless the context indicates otherwise) made of an inexpensive and lightweight transparent plastic material. The cover is typically configured to engage a peripheral rim or sidewall element of the tin or pan holding the bakery good. One drawback with this type of packaging configuration, however, is the inability of the cover to keep the bakery good stable during transportation. The bakery good can slide inside the pan, lift out of the pan, or smear along the sides or top of the cover thereby ruining the decorative appearance of the bakery good.
A second example container configuration includes a dome-shaped cover and a base configured to hold the pan containing the bakery good. The cover is typically configured to engage a peripheral rim or sidewall element to secure the pan within the container. Since the container includes a base element, this type of container configuration requires additional packaging material thereby increasing the cost of the container and placing an increased burden on the retailer (or end consumer of the bakery good) in terms of disposing the additional packaging material.
Other container configurations include modifications to the pan holding the bakery good, such as indentations into the pan, so that the pan acts as a shock-absorbing base shell. These types of modifications, however, generally offer little protection to decorative elements of the bakery good which are typically damaged by contact associated with the cover of the container during transport and/or distribution.
Accordingly, there is a need for alternative packaging for providing increased protection to food products, particularly bakery goods of the type containing decorative elements that are easily damaged during transport and/or distribution.